The present invention relates to a modular wall segment construction, to methods of making such segments, and to uses of such segments in the construction of walls.
Construction methods currently in popular use in many locations and climates are typically slow and labor-intensive. In Israel, for example, most constructions of interior walls rely on methods substantially unchanged over many years. Interior walls built in Israel, as well as those built in many similar climates, are typically constructed of cinderblock or of cement-based blocks of other types (referred to collectively hereinbelow as xe2x80x9cconstruction blocksxe2x80x9d), built into a wall by masons on the construction site, then covered by hand with a mixture of cement and fine sand, and finally finished by paint or plaster. Openings for doors and windows are measured on site and built into the block-based construction by hand, and channels for electrical and plumbing conduits are typically chiseled by hand into the constructed wall.
The popular construction process here described is not only slow and labor intensive, but also requires a high degree of skill and workmanship. Any failure in the workmanship may result in unevenness in the wall surface, or inaccurate placement of planned fixtures.
Alternative methods for the construction of interior non-loadbearing walls involve the use of broad prefabricated sheets of walling material, such as sheetrock, wallboard, gypsum board, DENSEGLASS, sheetrock, concreteboard or plasterboard. Such materials, referred to collectively hereinbelow as xe2x80x9cwalling sheetsxe2x80x9d, are often used together with a variety of insulating materials to produce interior walls. To construct a wall using walling sheets, a worker typically erects a metal or plastic frame at the desired location of the wall, and then attaches walling sheets to both sides of the frame, and, optionally, fills the space between the pair of walling sheets with insulating material.
Walls constructed of walling sheets are typically built more rapidly than those built of construction blocks, and have the advantage that the walling sheets themselves are smooth and typically present a fairly aesthetic and finished appearance, once attached to a frame. Therefore, building walls using walling sheets may be accomplished by workers having less professional skill than those required to erect a smooth, vertical, and well-finished wall using construction blocks. Both the greater rapidity of construction, and the lower skill requirements for the construction workers, are reflected in substantially lower construction costs for walls built of walling sheets in modular units. However, walls built using walling sheets are typically of lower quality than those built using construction blocks. In particular, walls built of walling sheets are typically less strong and less solid than walls built of construction blocks, and their thermal and acoustic insulating qualities are inferior.
Thus, there is a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a construction material and method of construction which provide the relative rapidity, simplicity and reduced manpower costs of modular construction, as well as the smooth, aesthetic, and highly finished appearance of walls constructed with walling sheets, together with the high-quality, strength, solidity and good acoustic and thermal insulating properties, of walls constructed with construction blocks.
Under construction practices typically in use at construction sites in Israel and in many other locations, responsibility for implementing the detailed plans provided by architects and engineers for accurately measuring and accurately implementing the correct placement of openings for doors and windows, for communication and electrical conduits, and for pipes and other conduits, typically falls on the masons constructing the walls. The fact that primary responsibility for accurate placement of such features is in the hands of on-site masons or other construction workers building the walls further reinforces the need for highly skilled, and consequently relatively expensive, construction workers on the construction site.
Thus, there is further a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a construction material and a method of construction which enable the building of walls having openings and fixtures which are elegantly finished and accurately placed according to architects"" and engineers"" specifications, yet which do not require highly skilled personnel at the construction site.
Prior art methods for building walls further include the use of pre-fabricated modular wall segments each comprising a pair of walling sheets sandwiching between them an insulating material of some sort. Argal, Calcar, and various polyurethane-based compositions have been used as insulating material in this context. The modular wall segments thereby produced do allow relatively easy wall construction, yet they fail to provide the solidity and acoustic and thermal isolating properties comparable to those obtained with masonry walls built of construction blocks. Moreover, many such materials have been found to be flammable, or to emit poisonous gasses into the surrounding environment when heated. For this and other reasons, available pre-fabricated modular wall segments comprising walling sheets surrounding an insulating material do not meet the minimum acceptable standards required under the building codes in force in Israel and in various other localities.
Thus there is further a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a construction material and a method of construction providing the advantages of rapidity and simplicity of modular construction and the solidity and insulating qualities of construction-block construction, while utilizing material components which are not flammable and which cause no harmful emissions to the environment when heated, and which are already recognized as acceptable building materials according to common practice and according to the legal requirements of the building codes in force in many localities.
In localities which suffer periodic earthquakes, the dangers and disadvantages of falling masonry construction blocks are well known. Falling masonry construction blocks comprising the walls of a building may be responsible for damage to property and injury and death to people, even in cases where the well-constructed load-bearing skeleton of the building (e.g., the reinforced concrete sections) survive an earthquake relatively intact.
Thus there is further a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a construction material and a method of construction which minimizes the danger of falling walls and wall components during earthquakes.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a modular wall segment for constructing a wall, comprising: (a) a first walling sheet of a selected two-dimensional shape and size; (b) a second walling sheet of the selected two-dimensional shape and size; and (c) a plurality of aerated concrete blocks contiguously located in a plurality of rows and columns between said first and second walling sheets to form a volume of consistent thickness of the selected two-dimensional shape and size; the plurality of aerated concrete blocks being bonded on their opposite faces to the first and second walling sheets.
According to some described preferred embodiments, the aerated concrete blocks are contiguously placed in direct contact with each other and are secured together within the modular wall segment solely by the external layers. Another embodiment is described wherein the aerated concrete blocks include a quantity of a bonding material between them to augment their securement together within the modular wall segment by the external layers.
According to further features in the described preferred embodiments, the modular wall segment is formed on at least one end face with a slot for receiving a fastening element to secure the modular wall segment to other modular wall segments. Various embodiments described below illustrate various types of configurations of slots, and of fastening elements to be received in such slots, for utilizing the segments in a modular manner to construct a wall or a juncture with a floor or ceiling.
The present invention thus addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a construction material and a method of construction which enable low-cost wall construction by utilizing the rapidity and simplicity of modular wall construction techniques, yet which produce high-quality, strong and solid walls whose acoustic and thermal insulating properties are comparable to those found in walls built using constructions blocks.
The present invention further addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a construction material and a method of construction which enable building walls with highly accurate placement of openings and fixtures, yet which do not require highly skilled personnel at the construction site.
The present invention still further addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a construction material and a method of construction providing the rapidity and simplicity of modular wall construction and the solidity and insulating qualities of construction-block construction, while enabling the utilization of materials which cause no harmful emissions to the environment and which are widely recognized and accepted as building materials both according to common practice and according to the building codes in force in a wide variety of locations.
The present invention still further addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a construction material and a method of construction which minimize danger of falling walls and wall components during an earthquake.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.